HAYWARD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Primus Power, a leader in grid-scale electrical energy storage, is partnering with the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) to deliver and support two 250 kW EnergyPodsTM as part of a research and demonstration project under BPA’s Technology Innovation Program. BPA is funding roughly one-third of the total project with shared funding from Puget Sound Energy (PSE), the Energy Storage Program of the US Department of Energy (DOE) and Primus. The consortium is studying the potential installation of grid-scale flow batteries in the electric distribution network of PSE, an investor-owned, regulated utility that provides electric and natural gas service to customers within BPA’s transmission and balancing territory.
Utility districts with a high percentage of wind power are seeking opportunities to enhance the integration of variable renewable resources, such as wind and solar. “BPA has been collaborating with others in the power industry to help integrate wind into our region and stretch the benefits of our hydro system,” said Terry Oliver, BPA’s chief technology innovation officer. “We’re looking for innovative solutions that can help us better integrate renewables and improve how we operate the Northwest power grid.”
Patrick Leslie, emerging technologies program manager at PSE, noted that “this project is an opportunity for us to understand the feasibility and cost-benefit of using grid scale battery arrays as well as to get our ‘hands dirty’, so to speak, with an installation.”
DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) will develop models of the storage systems to assess their energy and economic benefits and make recommendations on where they should be placed. After the systems are installed, the PNNL team will also help evaluate their actual performance.
Tom Stepien, CEO of Primus Power, comments, “The Primus team is very fortunate to work with an excellent group of partners on this pioneering effort. Together we will learn the real-world value of storage in the PSE system and demonstrate the differentiation of our energy storage solution.”
About Primus Power
Primus Power is a leader in cost effective, utility-grade energy storage solutions with a safe, scalable, distributed system that economically serves multiple storage applications. With patented innovations in chemistry, cell design and system engineering, the Company’s EnergyPods™ offer exceptional power density and portability. Primus is the only energy storage company to receive government grants from the US Department of Energy (DOE), the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E), and the California Energy Commission (CEC). Its technology stands to revolutionize the economics, stability, and security of the electric grid, while accelerating the incorporation of renewable wind and solar energy. Primus is headquartered in Hayward, California. For further information, please visit www.primuspower.com or follow Primus on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
About Bonneville Power Administration
BPA is a nonprofit federal agency that markets renewable hydropower from federal dams in the Columbia River Basin, operates three-quarters of high-voltage transmission lines in the Northwest and funds one of the largest wildlife protection and restoration programs in the world. BPA and its partners have also saved enough electricity through energy efficiency projects to power four large American cities. For more information, contact us at 503-230-5131 or visit www.bpa.gov.
About Puget Sound Energy
Washington State’s oldest local energy utility, Puget Sound Energy serves 1.1 million electric customers and more than 760,000 natural gas customers in 10 counties. PSE meets the energy needs of its customers, in part, through cost-effective energy efficiency, procurement of sustainable energy resources, and far-sighted investment in energy-delivery infrastructure. PSE employees are dedicated to providing great customer service that is safe, dependable and efficient. For more information, visit www.PSE.com, or follow PSE on Facebook and Twitter.
About Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Interdisciplinary teams at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory address many of America's most pressing issues in energy, the environment and national security through advances in basic and applied science. PNNL employs 4,500 staff, has an annual budget of nearly $1 billion, and has been managed for the U.S. Department of Energy by Ohio-based Battelle since the laboratory's inception in 1965. For more information, visit the PNNL News Center, or follow PNNL on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
EnergyPodTM and Primus Power Smart Grid StorageTM are trademarks of Primus Power Corporation.
